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Deshaun Watson focuses on 'job to do,' makes progress in Browns win over Jaguars
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- Deshaun Watson focuses on 'job to do,' makes progress in Browns win over Jaguars
JACKSONVILLE, Fla. — Deshaun Watson spent last week mostly on the defensive. A lot of the reasons for that were because of his own actions.
There was the Browns quarterback's performance in a season-opening loss to the Dallas Cowboys , which drew ire and ridicule from around the sports world. The next day, Sept. 9, another lawsuit by a woman in Texas was filed against Watson alleging sexual assault on a first date — the 27th allegation made against him through the legal system — drew the ire of pretty much everyone, inside and outside the sports world.
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Against that self-made backdrop, Watson walked into Jacksonville to lead the Browns in a critical early season game against the Jaguars , who were also winless entering the game. In part because of Watson, Jacksonville remains winless this season, and the Browns avoided the ignominious "teams that start 0-2" stat with an 18-13 Cleveland victory .
"Yeah, just keep everything the main thing the main thing," Watson said after the game. "Like I told you guys before, I know who I am. The ultimate, I have a job to do, that's [to] play quarterback for the Cleveland Browns and be the best I can be when I step on the field."
Watson wasn't always the best he could be against the Jaguars. However, he was good enough often enough to give the Browns a happy flight home to Cleveland as they prepare for the winless New York Giants next Sunday.
Cleveland Browns quarterback Deshaun Watson (4) celebrates a touchdown against the Jacksonville Jaguars on Sunday in Jacksonville.
The quarterback was 22-of-34 passing for 186 yards and a 78.8 passer rating, a step up from the 53.3% completion rate and two interceptions he had against the Cowboys. He was sacked twice — four times fewer than he was by Dallas — and hit seven times, which was 10 fewer times than the previous week.
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"Yeah, I'm not going to say comeback performance," Browns coach Kevin Stefanski said. "That's our starting quarterback out there making plays. He's not perfect. I got mad at him at the end there, but didn't stay mad at him. He made some plays and that's who he is.
"I thought his pocket movement, making plays off schedule was incredible. A couple of those throws down the field were really, really impressive, and he never blinked."
The closest Watson came to that was on the final pass he threw, which was fortunate to be a pass. Had it been ruled a fumble, the Jaguars might've had the football on the Browns' side of the 50 and 1:33 remaining, needing just a touchdown to win the game.
What will be remembered more than the final pass was the way it started for both Watson and the Browns. The opening 16-play, 89-yard drive was the pivot point upon which the entire game swung.
Not just for the Browns' chances, but for Watson's confidence.
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"I mean, just from getting on the bus, driving over to the stadium, getting dressed, everything was just a beautiful blessing and great opportunity for me to just come in and just be me, have fun, enjoy these moments, you know?" Watson said. "Never let anymore steal your joy, and that's the ultimate thing.
"And I think, you know, having, again, my support cast, my teammates, this organization, family, friends, everyone keeps telling me that it was major, it was big for me to, you know, feel that energy, and that's what I needed."
The Browns showed variety in formation on that drive, running either linemen Zak Zinter or Nick Harris and often both on for jumbo packages on one play before coming out the next in an empty set with five wide receivers. Sometimes, they did both on the same play, when Harris lined up at fullback and Zinter as a tight end, then all of them shifted wide into wide receiver spots.
Watson turned that little gadget into a 1-yard touchdown run out of an empty shotgun backfield. That gave the Browns a 7-0 lead never they never relinquished.
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The first drive was close to Watson at his best. He was 7-of-8 passing for 83 yards, connecting with Elijah Moore (two catches, 21 yards), Jerome Ford (one for no gain), Jerry Jeudy (two for 30), Jordan Akins (one for 10) and David Bell (one for 12).
"He did his thing," said Moore, who led the Browns in targets (eight) and catches (six) and was second in yards (44). "I'm glad he's healthy. He can do it again next week."
They say it can never get any better, which is what you could say about that drive. It was the only time the Browns actually reached the end zone, settling for three field goals by Dustin Hopkins and one sack of Watson's Jaguars counterpart, Trevor Lawrence , for a safety late.
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Watson only had one bad quarter statistically — 5-of-10 passing for 22 yards and a sack and a 56.2 passer rating in the third quarter. The other three quarters he was 17 of 24 for 164 yards.
The Browns also were just 2 of 14 on third down, and once again had double-digit penalties, this time 13 for 100 yards. They had three penalties in a four-play stretch around the two-minute warning at the end of the game that took them from potentially being first-and-goal from the Jaguars 9 to third-and-36 from the 50.
"We started off pretty good, we had some opportunities to continue drives," Watson said. "But, you know, the penalties, holding calls, mistakes, illegal formations, motions that that cost us, especially when we got in that red zone to get back in field goal range, put us in a tough situation. And then the second half, we just got to continue to keep pushing forward.
"We got to put a little more points on the board to help our defense and special teams out, and if we can continue to do that then we'll be a hard team to beat."
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Chris Easterling can be reached at ceasterling@thebeaconjournal.com. Read more about the Browns at www.beaconjournal.com/sports/browns. Follow him on X at @ceasterlingABJ
This article originally appeared on Akron Beacon Journal: Deshaun Watson focuses on 'main thing' as Browns edge Jaguars
